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09th Dec 2019

The World Anti-Doping Agency has banned Russia from global sporting events for four years

Rebecca O'Keeffe

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They will not be allowed to take part in the 2020 Olympics.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has banned Russia from all major sporting events for the next four years.

The decision came at a meeting of WADA’s Executive Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“The full list of recommendations have been unanimously accepted,” a spokesperson for WADA said.

Along with this ban, Russian government officials are also barred from attending such sporting events.

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Russia will also not be eligible to host or even bid to host major events during the same time period.

Interestingly, Russian athletes who can prove to WADA’s satisfaction that they are clean and were not part of what it believes was a state-sponsored system of doping will still be allowed to compete under a neutral flag.

Russia now has 21 days to appeal the decision. If it chooses to do so, the case will be referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).